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Archibald Colquhoun
''Archibald Colquhoun (known as 'Archie') is a half-blood Scottish wizard who is currently in his Sixth Year as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was born in the small town of Auchterarder, Perthshire to strict and ambitious parents. At Hogwarts School, he was enrolled into Slytherin House and currently serves as a Slytherin prefect. Biography Early Life (2008-2019) Archibald was born on the 4th August 2008 at his home in Auchterarder, Scotland as the younger of two children. His father, Alistair Colquhoun, was then a potioneer who worked from his home under contract from the Ministry of Magic whilst his mother, Fiona, worked as a part-time journalist and amateur herbologist. Alistair is a pure-blood Slytherin wizard from Perthshire whilst his mother is a muggle-born Ravenclaw who was born into an ambitious family of solicitors and engineers from Inverness. As well as the once controversial difference in their blood status and background, Alistair was seven years older than his younger wife. These differences caused family tensions when the couple first came together. Despite the inevitable conflict their match caused, they were drawn to each other by their intelligence, determination, and ambition, and married without taking any interest in their families' opinions. Archie's upbringing could be described as being "comfortably middle class". Although his parents were not extremely affluent, they and their children enjoyed a more-than-comfortable life. Alistair's work required him to travel to Edinburgh frequently so the couple owned two properties, a large Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh as well as a very remote country house in Auchterarder, formerly a Presbyterian manse. The country house was where Archie and his sister spent most of their early childhood, mostly cut off from the influence of the Muggle world. Archie's parents pushed him academically from an early age but he also grew up with a love of the countryside and the outdoors. Despite his secluded upbringing, he became confident and well-spoken and loved intellectual debate. Before he arrived at Hogwarts, he had read most of the basic first year textbooks and had a thirst to learn more than they offered. His parents instilled an ethos of ambition and hard work which has stayed with him to this day. However, this didn't prevent him from developing a more adventurous side. Most of his childhood was spent exploring the moors, hills, and forests by himself and finding a secluded corner to sketch or sit down with a pile of books until the sun began to set. His experience of the Muggle world was limited until later on but he did develop a fascination for older muggle technology, particularly steam trains, mostly from his muggle-born mother's family's background in engineering. Technical drawings of locomotives and steamships decorated his bedroom walls behind his endless piles of magical textbooks. Fiona is also considerable musical talent and Archie spent much time learning various instruments and developing a love of classical music. After many happy young years at the manse, Archie's parents moved into the Edinburgh house after his 7th birthday. To his dislike, his parents decided to enroll him at a private Muggle school, Fettes College, until he received his Hogwarts letter. Suddenly thrust into the muggle world, Archie has to quickly to adapt to a way of life he did not fully understand. He did not let this intimidate him and he gradually develop subtle ways of controlling his magic to use against his enemies on the odd occasion. By his 9th birthday, Archie's parents marriage was slowly breaking down. His older sister, Siobhan, moved to Canada with her partner after graduating from Hogwarts. In order to sort out their personal issues, Alistair and Fiona decided to send their son out of the way. Archie was enrolled at Gordounstoun private boarding school. Although he liked it better than his time at Fettes, he felt some anger towards his parents for their decision. His agony was relieved in 2019 when he finally received his Hogwarts acceptable letter owl. First Year (2019-2020) Archie had spent most of his childhood preparing for his admission to Hogwarts. Although he was not surprised by any aspect of the magical world, he was still stunned to find the school even more impressive than his parents had describe it. More important, he was excited to be surrounded by his own kind and looked forward to devoting the rest of his young life to magical study. He dressed in a well-made tweed suit and left his parents at Platform 9-3/4 with little ceremony. During the Hogwarts ceremony, Archie approached the sorting hat with some hesitation. His parents had been enrolled into different houses and he found it difficult to work out which place the sorting hat would choose for him. He listened with a small smirk as the hat called out Slytherin House and reflecting back on it he really was not that surprised. Overall, Archie's First Year was a quiet one. He spent most of the time exploring the castle and reading about its secrets in the hope that they might one day come to his advantage. Second Year (2020-2021) Archie arrived back in his second year with even more determination and confidence. However, this year proved to be one of reflection and a turning point in his view of the magical world as he knew it. Now that he was settled into Hogwarts, he could devote more time to getting to know his fellow house mates and make good connections. The young man became slightly disaffected with his house due to the attitudes of some of his housemates. Having a muggle-born mother, he had always disliked the trend of pure-blood mania and grew tired of having to defend his position to people who he otherwise thought were intellectually beneath him. Although he disliked muggle-born discrimination, this was not his primary reason for disliking pure-blood elitism. He was far more bothered about the fact that pure-blood status was used as a source of pride more than achievement or self-improvement. He began to notice that incredibly stupid wizards would use their blood status to avoid being judged on their (lack of) talent. From that point, he determined that the qualities of cunning, ambition, and achievement should be pushed more in his house and that he would defend them above blood status as the principal qualities of a true Slytherin. Archie spent very little time with his housemates for most of the year. Third Year (2021-2022) Archie's third year was marked mostly by family drama as his parents finally began to separate from each other. The problem was that both of them were too proud and vain to be seen to separate in public. The year was therefore a long process of private arguments during which time they had little time for their son. Although this upset Archie, he tried to prevent himself from becoming bitter. The positive affect was that he could focus on what he wanted to do without them interfering. He decided not to go home for Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the school over the quiet holidays. However, he was not able to avoid the situation at home during the summer months. Officially, he was meant to spend his summer dividing his time between his two houses where each of his parents were living separately. However, most of his time was spent with his now miserable, reclusive father in Auchterarder. Archie took a cold approach to the situation, mostly ignoring the man and spending the summer taking short trips whenever he felt like it. In August 2022, his parents finally decided to talk to him individually about the situation, stating that they had reached an amicable arrangement. The remain together for the sake of appearances and Archie has contact with both of them. However, the family situation was certainly different. From then on, Archie very much became his own man and could do what he wanted without either of them regularly knowing or caring. Upsetting at it was at the time, the arrangement seems to suit him well and he was glad of the closure after four years of family fighting. Fourth Year (2022-2023) Archie determined that he would make good use of his Fourth Year by being more open and sociable. The year began slowly until the disappearance of the Headmistress and the appearance of Judy Dorchester as leader of the School in February 2023. Although the events didn't initially affect him very much, they made him much more aware of what was going on around him and he began to talk to students in his year that he had previously ignored. Shortly after Dorchester's take over, Archie became acquainted with Marzia and Aisling after he overheard them gossiping about Dorchester's activities. The group were an unusual choice for a friendship given that their personalities contrasted each other in almost every respect. All three became member of 'The Thornberries', a secret student society aiming to oppose Dorchester and gather extra food to make life more bearable for their fellow students. However, Archie did not play much of an active role. The contrasting personalities of Archie and Aisling became complimentary when it became clear that they had some romantic feelings towards one and other. Archie was attracted by the muggle-born's artistic talent and passion, qualities he had always admired. After an intimate picnic at the top of the Astronomy Tower, the unlikely couple began to date. The year concluded with the drama following the downfall of the Dorchester regime and the return of Headmistress Fischer after which Aisling invited Archie to spent the summer with her at her home in Ireland. Summer 2023 Archie traveled home to Auchterarder after the Hogwarts Express before using the Floo Network to arrive at the Jones' Family farm. Aisling and Archie grew increasingly close over their summer together. The rural setting allowed Archie's more down-to-earth side to come through and he loved both exploring the Irish countryside and learning more about Aisling's creative, bohemian home lifestyle. Together, the couple also used the Floo network to attend social events organised by other students. This was a completely new experience for Archie but he had to spent a good part of the time helping Aisling in her clumsy attempts to get used to Floo travel. One afternoon on the farm, Archie discovered a small tabby kitten belonging to one of the barn cats. He gave the kitten a name, Róisín, and she stayed with him for several days before scratching him and running off. Two weeks later, Archie and Aisling discovered the same cat lost and scared on the beech outside of the farm where the couple rescued her. Aisling insisted that she had chosen Archie as her owner and that he should keep her. Archie resisted and pretended to feel no affection for the little creature until eventually giving in and agreeing to take Róisín to Hogwarts with him in the upcoming year. Fifth Year (2023-2024) At the end of the summer months, Archie and Aisling received letters informing them that they had been appointed prefects for their respective houses. The year began with much less drama than the previous year but with the immediate pressures of prefect duties and O.W.L. Examinations being felt straight away. The couple, along with a number of other students, came down with a mysterious itching virus within the first month of term. Archie strongly suspected the identity of the culprit, a fellow Slytherin, but it seems that he has been patiently biding his time to enact any vengeance. Their romance has also blossomed with both of them being able to experience the new found joys of having somebody to accompany them to school dances. Archie attended the Halloween Party dressed as Prince Lir form the Last Unicorn with Aisling dressed as Amalthea. They later attended the more formal Christmas Ball and the more relaxed Valentines 'Hearty Party'. In February 2024, Archie joined the team of the Owl Post student newspaper which has given him a strong taste for writing to prominent figures in the wizarding community, using his position to sneakily uncover intriguing facts about the Ministry if he ever gains the opportunity. The remainder of the year was mostly spent focusing on studying for the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations. Archie spent a good deal of time hidden under large piles of books and expensive chocolate truffles whilst he fretted over his studies. His only distractions were prefect duties and comforting Aisling when required, such as when she was falsely accused of misbehavior in potions class. The couple often studied together, taking regular breaks for picnics and romantic walks. Archie performed extremely well during his O.W.L. examinations and received the following grades: Summer 2024 In return for spending the last summer at Aisling's family farm, Archie invited her to stay at his home in Auchterarder the following year. The couple traveled to London on the Hogwarts express where they took a couple of days to enjoying shopping, sightseeing, and shoes. They then traveled to Scotland on the sleeper train from London through Edinburgh to Gleneagles. Ais has previously seen the house during the Christmas holidays but the summer provided a totally new atmosphere to enjoy for the next few months. The summer was extremely relaxed, mostly spent on long nature walks through the local hills and late evening picnics taken outdoors in the vast gardens of his family home overlooking the loch. Ais spent much of her time painting the stunning scenery during the long evenings which even allowed Archie to rekindle some of his more limited artistic ability. He frequently awoke early in the morning, took a long walk to a secluded location where he could try some sketching in private, before returning to the house and preparing a special lunch for them both in the afternoon. Archie and Ais also spent a lot of time traveling through the floo network to attend various social events organised by other students such as the Ashworth family gala. He celebrated his sixteenth birthday in August and was gifted a exquisite potions set by his father, some cooking equipment from his sister, a rare antique watch by his mother (adding to his already large collection), and specially painted artwork from Ais. The summer holidays also gave him some time to think about his future prospects after successfully receiving his O.W.L. qualifications. Upon the suggestion of his father, he sent correspondence to various family contacts in the Ministry of Magic through which he developed a strong interest in advocacy and the work of the Wizengamot office. He made plans to pursue more formal work experience during the next summer. Sixth Year (2024-2025) Sixth year began very well and in retrospect was a very misleading beginning to what would become the most eventful year in Archie's life at Hogwarts. Upon arriving back at the school, Archie and Aisling had to take responsibility for the large number of incoming first year students as part of their prefect duties. Whilst the Slytherin intake was relatively confident and well-behaved, Aisling found herself having to give out much help and emotional support to her young Badgers. Archie was always willing to lend support by offering plenty of tea and home-baking, although his mischievous sense of humour when talking to scared firsties was probably not always much assistance. He also had the opportunity to use his musical talents for some practical benefit when Edna, the enormous sentient plant belonging to Professor Dracheblume, was spooked and grew to an enormous size, filling the entirety of the Long Gallery in the castle. Groups of students would gather to play music in order to calm her down and encourage her to withdraw to her usual size including Archie who offered some help by playing Brahms on the violin. The first serious drama of the year happened in early October when a banshee appeared in the Great Hall with a horrible warning for those present. The creature almost completed destroyed the magical ceiling. Professor Priaulx, who had been attempting to banish the banshee, was attacked and nearly dropped to her death from the rafters, although she thankfully recovering after some time in the hospital wing. It seemed that Archie and Aisling were avoiding bad luck this year as they had not been in the Great Hall at the time and therefore avoided the incident. Their luck seemingly went undamaged when an even more dramatic incident happened only a few weeks later. The ground underneath the Entrance Courtyard was burst open by an angrily acromantula, revealing a secret passage under the castle. Students and staff investigated only to find themselves face-to-face with an entire group of acromantula. Fortunately nobody was harmed but the passage revealed a shocking secret that something had been kept below and was now loose in the castle. The couple were safely far away in the library at the time. Upon hearing of the incident taking place, Archie encouraged students to remain in the common room and helped to escort many back from the scene therefore avoiding the drama for the time being. This spell of good fortune was soon to run out. The creature which had been released from the passage was a Dhampir who began to attack students around the school whilst seeming to leave notes about its past history and suffering. One seemingly pleasant afternoon, Archie and Aisling were standing on the viaduct admiring the view when it attacked them. Aisling was injured ferociously and lost a large amount of blood. Archie attempted to save her by attacking the creature with stunning spells and through books at it but only incurred its wrath. He was thrown to the ground and hit his head badly. The Dhampir tried to bite him as well until he was saved by the intervention of Professor Blackwell. It ran away leaving only a light scar on his neck and a mild concussion. The pair were taken to the hospital wing along with a further three students who were attacked. Although stunned, Archie recovered quite quickly and had to wait anxiously until Aisling regained her strength. She was totally shaken by the incident and eventually broke down in front of her boyfriend. Despite the drama, the incident helped the pair grew closer by expressing their love for each other properly for the first time. More attacked rampaged through the school until extra guards and Ministry experts were called in to control the situation. Archie and Aisling put their worries aside and attended the Halloween Ball. At his suggestion, they dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler from '''A Scandal in Bohemia'. The students were also mostly able to enjoy the festivities of bonfire night but not without the creepy incident of a further note being left for them by the assumed culprit of the attacks. The whole incident finally came to a conclusion in November when it was revealed that there were actually two brother involved in the story - Miles (the attacker) and Elliot (trying to warn others about the danger his brother posed). Sadly, Miles was killed by one of the Ministry agents whilst trying to launch an attack in the Great Hall. Although Archie had suspected an aspect of warning in the notes, he could not piece together the whole story and missed the final showdown. Perhaps this was one final piece of luck returning after the ordeal of the attack. With the close of the incident, life at Hogwarts returned mostly to its normal peaceful yet marvelous atmosphere. Personal Details Appearance Archie is fairly tall for his age with pale skin and brown hair which sits in a tidy but slightly disheveled style. His physical build and fitness are about average. Having grown up in the countryside, he is used to walking frequently but he is worried about becoming slightly plump due to his healthy appetite for good food. He tries to keep himself fit enough to keep active and perform magic without difficult but does not make any effort which takes too much time away from his comfort. He cares about his appearance, particularly his clothes. His sense of style is somewhat like a country gentleman. He wears suits and tailored coats, normally with a tie, and he has a wardrobe full of tweed, wool, and cashmere items. He is particularly fond of scarves. Despite his country upbringing, he is obsessed with neatness and feels compelled to change his clothes if they become stained by even the smallest mark. The scourgify spell has therefore become his life-saver. He always wears a leather watch and he has a collection of over thirty watches, mostly received as birthday presents. Personality A generally good-natured person, Archie displays some of the more positive qualities of Slytherin House. He is confident in his manner and friendly to everybody he meet unless he has good reason not to be. He is extremely ambitious and achievement driven, qualities which make him something quite dismissive of people who do not exhibit these characteristics. He also has a very keen sense of justice and fair play. When it comes to his enemies or those who behave in a way he does not approve of, he will always vocally warn them and give them the chance to correct their behavior. However, if the warning is ignored, Archie believes that misbehavers should be taught a lesson in proportion to their crimes. However, he will never act in a way which is malicious or spiteful and he also highly values loyalty and integrity. On the negative side, he has a tendency to be standoffish, vain, and stubborn. Although he is generally friendly, he can appear overly stern and formal to those who do not know him well. He adopts these qualities as a defense mechanism until he is sure about letting somebody into his confidence. He also has no inhibitions about being confrontational and extremely argumentative when the situation calls for it. It seems that he does not understand that other people do not share his love of lively discussion. He has a love of good food, particularly rich meats and expensive chocolate, the latter he keeps a hearty supply of in his dormitory. Possessions • Wand: Oak, dragon heartstring, 11.25 inches. ''An unusually plain looking wand purchased from Olivander's Wand Shop a few days prior to Archie's departure on the Hogwarts Express as a new First Year student. Made from English Oak, the wand chooses a wizard of strength and loyalty. However, the dragon heartstrings core appears more to a wizard who has the determination to hold that loyalty. '• Watches': ''38 in total. ''Mostly received as birthday presents. His love of watches stems from a curious interest in mechanical muggle technology and a hatred for wasting time. Knowing the time constantly helps him to keep productive and use every last minute of the day to its full advantage. '• Leather Satchel': ''Dark brown with his initials and slytherin crest. ''This bag was custom made by Aisling for Archie's 15th birthday. He sometimes carries it to class but often prefers to keep in safely in his dorm where it holds his favorite books. It is normally stuffed full of parchments, textbooks, letters from his father, and a(n) (un)healthy supply of tasty sweets. '• Potions Kit: Large light brown shoulder satchel. ''Filled with numerous ingredients, scales, and additional textbooks. He carries many more items that are needed for his classes and he spends a lot of time meticulously tidying the kit, particularly when bored or nervous. '• Róisín: ''A British Shorthair tabby cat''. Róisín was discovered at Aisling's farm after growing an attachment to Archie. Like her 'companion', this little creature very much has a mind of her own. She doesn't seem to be able to make up her mind whether she loves Archie or not. Furthermore, she constantly wanders off into adventure. Aisling and Archie have already rescued her from a watery hole on the beech and from a farmhouse roof. • Violin: ''Purchased during his boarding school days''. Kept in a case beneath his bed in the dormitories. He also has a large number of musical instruments held in his homes in Auchterarder and Edinburgh but he does not take them to school with him. • Badger Medallion: ''Kept safe for Aisling. Aisling made this necklace for herself after being enrolled into Hufflepuff. She later decided to give it to Archie as a sign of loyalty and affection. He keeps is safe, sometimes even wearing it, but his feeling is that it ''truly ''belongs to her. '' Skills & Abilities • Charms: 'An academically successful student, Archie has excellent abilities in charms. He mastered the art of nonverbal magic very quickly upon beginning his sixth year of studies. ''O.W.L. Grade: Outstanding (O). '• Classical Music: '''Archie was taught music by his mother and further developed his musical ability during his time at boarding school. He has a love of muggle classical music and he has had some experience with a large number of instruments including the piano, violin, cello, and flute. He surprised Aisling and his fellow students by demonstrating an ability to play the harpsichord during a Fourth Year music lesson. '• Cooking: 'Food is one of his passions and he takes pleasure in cooking for himself whenever he has the opportunity. He attempts all manner of complex recipes during the summer from which he has developed some culinary skill. Thinking about the next meal keeps him going through most days especially during the summer where he cooks daily for himself and his family. '• Debating: '''Archie is publically confident and has a sharp mind which makes him an excellent public speaker, despite his stern first impression. Furthermore, he has a strong love for intellectual discussion and vigorous argument. He is visibly thrilled by the opportunity to tackle a complex question and lock heads with somebody who disagrees. He hopes to one day join the advocacy service at the Ministry courts. ' '• Herbology: Although it is not his principal academic interest, Archie finds herbology truly fascinating and spends a great deal of time reading into the subject beyond class requirements. One notable gap in his abilities is his problems in caring for the mandrake plant, which seems to dislike him and misbehave no matter how well he follows best practice. Otherwise, he has above average abilities in the subject. O.W.L. Grade: Outstanding (O). '• Potions: '''Archie has a long-standing love of potions which he developed in his childhood from his potioneer father. He often carries around his large potions kit so that he can meticulously tidy his ingredients and read up on new potions in his free time. ''O.W.L. Grade: Outstanding (O). '''• Transfiguration: This is Archie's favorite subject. His is particularly drawn to its precise and technical nature. He performs excellently in exams and spends a great deal of time practicing. He is strongly tempted to pursue a future career where transfiguration will be a principal part. O.W.L. Grade: Outstanding (O). Relationships Students • Aisling Jones: • Marzia Sterling: • Kamila Bullstrod: • Morgan Maldive: • Sila Warrington: • Essa Nazari: • Persephone Vitrac: Professors • Professor Blackwell: • Professor Drachblume: • Professor Dumorney: • Professor Knagthon: • Professor Reuter: Behind the Scenes * Archibald 'Archie' Colquhoun is a character portrayed by archibaldkilravock Resident in the virtual world Second Life® @ Mischief Managed, a devotional sim created by Anya Ohmai and voluntarily maintained by various creative Administrators and players. You can find out more information here: http://mischiefmanagedsl.net. * Colquhoun (pronounced 'ca-hoon') is a lowland Scottish Clan originating in Dumbartonshire. This name comes from the Gaelic place name "cuil cumhann" meaning "narrow corner". It is currently unknown when in history the pure-blood magical line became connected to the family name. * As a background detail, the character is designed to exemplify the qualities of a young Horace Slughorn particularly his fondness for the good life and admiration of achievement. Archie is perhaps a little bit more puritanical than the old Professor, however, and more willing to work for his own achievements.